Charles f



(NoMo de1.)

0-. F. A. MUELLER.

v PIPE CUTTER.

PatentedDec. 10,1895.

ammo-1mm. WASH UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. A. MUELLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOROBERT D. WARDl/VELL, OF SAME PLACE.

PIPE-CUTTER.

$PEOIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 551,041, dated December10, 1895.

' Application filed August 16, 1894. Serial No. 520,460. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LCHARLES F. A. MUEL- LER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Pipe-Cutters; and Ideclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object the production of a pipe-cutter adaptedmore particularly for cutting lead or other soft-metal pipe.

The particular object of the invention is to produce a cutter which,while cutting the pipe quickly, will not flatten it or disturb to anygreat extent the contour thereof.

The invention consists in a combination of devices and applianceshereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation with the cuttingknifeopen. Fig. 2 shows the knife closed. Fig. 3 is an edge elevation, andFig. 4 a section on the line 4 at of Fig. 1.

In carrying out the invention, A represents the main portion or head ofthe device, having a single arm a, which acts as an abutment to receivethe thrust or pressure when the knife is cutting, or in other words itis the stationary jaw of the cutter. This arm is of a V or curved shape,so that when placed on the pipe'it will embrace it and hold it firmly inplace. Pivoted to the head A at a are arms B, provided on their endswith handles B.

C is the movable jaw or cutter provided a dovetailed joint; but it isobvious that other forms of engagement, such as an ordinary tongue andgroove, might be employed without departing from the spirit of theinven* tion. The portion a of the head is provided with a groove a(shown by dotted lines, Fig. 1,) in which the projection c on the knifetravels.

D are toggle-arms, pivoted at d to the movable jaws C, and each havingits outer end pivoted, as at d, to an arm B. The motion is obvious. Asthe handles B are thrown apart the toggle-arms withdraw the knife C, asin Fig. 1, while the motion of the handles D toward each other reversesthe motion of the knife C.

It will be observed that the knife C is of a peculiar shape, having thepoint'c and diverging cutting-edges 0 It will also be observed thatthese cutting-edges are knife-edgesthat is, sharpened by beveling, so asto easily and cleanly cut the pipe. By virtue of this shape, when theknife strikes the pipe to be cut it first punctures it with the point,and then instead of cutting from the outside of the pipe toward theinterior it cuts from the inside toward the exterior and on two sidesand with a shearing or knife cut. Thus the only pressure on the pipethat tends to fiatten it or destroy its contour is that when the pointis puncturing it, which is of course very small. As soon as the pointenters the pipe the pressure is lateral and outward, the pipe beingfirmly held by the V shape of the single stationary arm. The latter isprovided with a slot a which the knife enters, thus insuring thecomplete cutting of the pipe.

It is obvious that any desired mechanism may be employed to move theknife to perform the work, and although I prefer the form shown, yet Ido not care to be so limited so long as the knife has a direct thrust.

WVhat I claim is 1. In a portable or hand pipe cutter the combinationwith a head having one or more arms for carrying it and carrying asingle stationary arm shaped to engage the pipe, and a movable cutterengaged to the head and adapted to move toward and from the stationaryarm, said cutter formed with a point and beveled cutting edges divergingtherefrom, and a slot in the head into which the cutting edges moveafter the pipe has been out, said knife provided with a lateral roowhereby the handles form a means for carrying and supporting the headand also means for operating the cutter, said stationary arm providedwith a slot into which the cutting edges of the knife pass after havingcut the pipe, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of twoWitnesses.

CHARS, F. A. MUELLER. \Vitnesses:

,W. H. CHAMBERLIN,

CLIFFORD N. WHITE.

